With a month till Easter, what better time to bake delicious and hearty Carrot Cake !
Early Easter on CakesCottage – plan and look up meals for Easter, because time is passing quickly.
Aaaah, Easter….cute bunnies, fine-art dyed Easter eggs, gorgeous hyper-coloured chickens and enough chocolate available to have you so high that you can see that unicorn riding a rainbow…not that I would know what that feels like….of course….;) It also means a nice big dose of delicious (yes, I said delicious!) extra holidays! Two more days of chilling, long weekend-ing and of course, eating chocolate (did I forget to mention that before?) You probably reckon that I should be celebrating National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day, Banana Cream Pie Day or National Oreo Day, since April is still pretty far but um… read heading please? Early Easter on CakesCottage. Well, as you may already know, I love any excuse I can come up with for posting, and subsequently devouring, all sorts of traditions and to eat more sweets.
So from today, being the Easter bunny and all, I thought maybe I could offer a few traditions that you could start with your family. Making and devouring old fashioned Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting could be one of them.
I was nervous the entire time I was mixing this batter, because i know that carrot cake is definitely one of those recipes that will NOT please everyone.
Would it be the right consistency?
Would the raisins and carrots burn?
Everyone likes it different – nuts or no nuts, pineapple or no pineapple, raisins or no raisins.
I always worry that if it doesn’t turn out for someone else, I feel responsible and I hate that. But I finally came to the resolution that when it comes down to it, I’m posting recipes that me and my family love. Some people will love them but not everyone will. That’s life. so I made this carrot cake the way my family likes, and it worked out perfectly!
And how did they taste? Delicious, and exactly like you might expect.
- CARROT CAKE INGREDIENTS:
- 3¼ cups flour
- 1½ cups vegetable or canola oil
- 2 cups sugar
- 6 eggs
- 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. ground nutmeg
- pinch of ground cloves
- 2 cups grated carrot
- 1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
- 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts(i use pecans)
- CREAM CHEESE FROSTING INGREDIENTS:
- 3 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
- ½ tsp. salt
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- CARROT CAKE
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour 3 (8-inch) round cake pans.
- Beat the sugar, oil, and eggs together in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light yellow.
- Add the vanilla.
- In another bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder, nutmeg and cloves until just combined
- Add the dry ingredient mixture to the mixing bowl, and beat on medium-speed until just combined, scraping down the pan at least once to be sure that everything is well mixed.
- Then fold in the grated carrots, pineapple and pecans by hand and stir until combined.
- Divide the batter between the prepared pans and smooth the tops.
- Bake until the layers are firm and risen and the tip of a paring knife inserted in the center of the cake emerges clean, about 25-30 minutes.
- Remove pans and let them cool on a wire rack until the cakes reach room temperature.
- Let the cake layers cool completely.
- CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese and butter and beat on medium until smooth, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Add in vanilla extract and salt, and continue mixing until combined.
- Lower speed to medium-low and gradually add in powdered sugar.
- Increase speed to medium-high and beat until well combined.
- If frosting is too thick, you can add in a teaspoon or two of water.
- If it is too thin, you can add in more powdered sugar.
- Layer the cakes with the cream cheese frosting, and decorate with walnuts or pecans.
- Serve that day or store, covered, for up to 4 days.
